Armistice Day: Cameron mourns Korea War dead

David Cameron has marked Armistice Day by laying a wreath at the site of the
British Army's bloodiest battle since the end of the Second World War.

Prime Minister David Cameron lays a wreath at the National War Memorial in Seoul, South KoreaPhoto: EPA

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Prime Minister David Cameron (R) pays a tribute at a monument with the names of British soldiers with a British veteran (top L) during a Remembrance Day ceremony at the War Memorial Gloster Valley, at Solma-ri north of SeoulPhoto: AFP/GETTY IMAGES

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Prime Minister David Cameron meets British war veterans at the National War Memorial in Seoul, South KoreaPhoto: EPA

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David Cameron walks with British Army Brigadier David Greenwood (left) at Gloster Valley, South KoreaPhoto: REUTERS

The 1st Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment, were cut off and surrounded by vastly superior Chinese Communist forces during the Battle of the Imjin River from 22-25 April 1951 in the Korean War.

Running short of water and ammunition, the "Glorious Glosters" held their hilltop position through a full day and a night, repelling waves of Chinese attackers.

The Prime Minister - who is in South Korea for a summit of the G20 group of major economies - spent a few moments in silent contemplation at the memorial in what is now known by grateful Koreans as Gloster Valley.

Some 59 men died in the defence of the hill and 526 were taken prisoner - 180 of them wounded. Another 34 men died in captivity.

But their heroic stand delayed the advance of the Communist troops, preventing them from outflanking the forces of the Republic of Korea and the United Nations.

As a result, the Allied forces were able to take up positions at a defensible line further south and prevent a direct assault on capital Seoul.

Two Victoria Crosses were awarded for valour, including to the Glosters' commander Lieutenant-Colonel James Carne, who was one of those taken prisoner.

Sombrely dressed in dark coat and tie and sporting a red poppy on his lapel, Mr Cameron was joined by the defence attache at the UK's Seoul Embassy Brigadier David Greenwood to lay a wreath of poppies at a memorial to the Glosters.

The 29th Brigade, of which the Glosters formed part, suffered 1,091 casualties, dead, wounded or missing during the Imjin River offensive, while Chinese casualties are thought to have reached around 10,000. A total of 1,078 UK troops died and 2,674 were wounded during the Korean War from 1950-53.